


Get It Off

by mortifera



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-12
Updated: 2015-06-12
Packaged: 2018-03-30 21:23:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3952258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mortifera/pseuds/mortifera
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stripping is easy, all you have to do is put on a little show for people and give them something to fantasize about. At least, that's what Neah thought, that is, until Cross hires some desperate guy off the street as an employee, who can't strip for shit. Neah's life just got a hell of a lot harder, and to make things worse, the pain in the ass new hire is hot as hell. {Discontinued}</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting

Sighing irritably, the tall, luscious male collapsed into the nearest chair in his dressing room, muttering something about how the younger crowds were way too noisy for his taste. His job was something he did because it paid better than any other one he had had before, and it wasn't like he was embarrassed by slipping off his clothes in front if a crowd. All he had to remember when those lecherous eyes began to greedily stare at him was to pretend he wasn't disgusted and that he even liked it. The more appealing he was, the more he was able to entice the audience, the higher his tips would add up to.

This particular show had been a bit difficult, as some young adults, most likely some kids who had just turned 21 or something like that, were cat calling, whistling, and even trying to touch him. Of course, this was probably due to the empty glass bottles of beer on their table, but luckily for Neah, another of his co-workers had been kind enough to distract them, making Neah's job so much simpler. Even after having this job for well over a year, he couldn't help the overwhelming urge to throw something at anyone who tried to get his attention through lewd manners.

 _Whatever, at least that was my last performance for the day._ He thought to himself with a short yawn, jumping from his seat on the wooden chair and towards the enormous closet.

Since it was already open, Neah flipped through his vast collection, picking a loosely fitting grey shirt with a pair of jeans which had some ripped holes on the upper portion of the pants. Suggestive yet casual enough for him to blend in with everyone else. He stripped of his lacy attire, carelessly tossing it into a corner and pulling on the clothes he had chosen, quickly doing so and running to the mirror to check his face. Out of habit, he attempted to tame his wild, dark hair, which always grew in whatever direction it pleased, no matter how much hair product Neah coaxed into it. It was annoyingly stubborn, and this time was not different, simply ignoring the feeble attempts to push it into a single direction and returning to its usually messy look.

Neah gave up, and decided to run a brush through it just to get rid of all the tangles, quickly finishing the monotonous task and grabbing his smart phone from the bureau. No messages, only some stupid Facebook notifications indicating that more people had found him online and messaged him with their usual perverted crap. What a sick joke, he was done with all the harassment, what the fuck did those people take him as, a piece of meat?!

A low growl slipped past his lips, forming a disgusted scowl as he was about to rant to himself again when his phone buzzed in his hands suddenly, surprising him. Dropping it on instinct, he fumbled to catch it before it hit the ground, satisfaction arising when he managed to get it just as it was about to touch the ground. What luck.

Tapping the screen, he placed the phone on his shoulder and pressed his ear to the screen, waiting for the person calling to say something.

"Oi, Neah, you done yet, or do I have to come in there and get you?" Growled the familiar voice of Cross Marian, his boss and also the owner of this male strippers establishment. It was a private one, and it didn't exactly have a name, since Cross always liked to keep certain people out of the place, though he wasn't exactly sure who he was referring to or if it actually paid off. In the end, customers always seemed to find their way into his business, so he supposed it didn't really matter. So long as they kept coming and bringing in plenty of tips, he'd continue with the shit that came his way gladly.

"Sure sure Cross. Jeez, you're such a pain in the ass, I've only been in here for a few minutes. What's the rush?" He grumbled into the receiver, walking around and slipping on a pair of sandals, since wearing heels for three hours was a killer workout on his feet. At least the bruises had stopped forming, along with those ugly blisters he had gotten the first week of wearing those new heels he had bought. Sure, they were pretty sexy on him, but it had been hell to walk around with his feet screaming in agony with every step he took, not to mention he had had to cover it all up with some makeup, making it harder for it to heal quickly,.

"The rush is that I have someone new coming in, and I want you to be their guide. You know, just ease him into the job, show him the basics, etc etc."

"Why the fuck do I have to do this?"

"Because if you don't I'm going to fire your ass, so get out of that dressing room in two."

And with that, the bastard hung up on him with a soft click. Infuriated that Cross had just sprung this on him with no warning what so ever, he began to growl a series of expletives as he went about the room and gathered some of his necessities. Grabbing his favorite hoodie, he hurriedly stuffed his phone in his front pocket, before pulling on the hoodie and hiding his messy hair. Fine, he'd 'train' this new guy Cross had hired, whatever the fuck that meant. Hopefully it meant someone who had been a stripper before, not someone who just needed a job really badly and were desperate for money. All in all, stripping is the least demeaning job, at least, in Neah's opinion. He'd take it any day over being a prostitute, but he got that not everybody was in his position.

Sliding out of the room, he shoved his hands into the pockets, sauntering onto the main floor, where another one of his co-workers, Mana, who also happened to be his brother, was having some fun with one of the younger customers. Rolling his eyes, Neah was accustomed to his brother's ridiculous flirtatious behavior, which he usually went overboard on whenever Cross was around, always trying to get a jealous reaction out of him. Like he didn't own the guy from head to toe. He spotted Cross near the front entrance, leveling a deadly glare at the client whom Mana was teasing, daring him to put a single one of his dirty thoughts into action. Neah smirked as he watched Mana's hair brush against the customers cheek, the bright red flush of pleasure burning brighter as the other watched Mana with lustful eyes. He could practically feel Cross's fury from where he stood watching, and decided to intervene before he blew up.

Quickly stepping across the room, he grabbed Cross by his arm and dragged him in his office, ignoring his struggles and growling as he pushed him onto his seat, moving back to take a seat on top of his desk, waiting. Cross took a moment to pull himself together, still looking quite envious as he forced himself to calm down ever so slightly. Only slightly.

"So, when's the new guy coming in?"

Cross shrugged, "I told him to be here at 11, so in a few minutes, I guess. Hopefully he's punctual."

"Hopefully? When did you even hire this guy? Did you even get his name?"

"Yeah, it starts with an A or something, I don't know. I wasn't exactly sober when all this happened okay? I just remember finding someone who was going around asking people if they had a job available for him and I offered him one, plain and simple. He took it without any hesitation."

"Does he even know what you hired him to do!?" Neah snapped impatiently, starting to get really tired of the usual drunk story bull crap Cross gave him every time. For god's sake, when would this idiot ever learn to not drink so fucking much?!

"Don't know, but it won't matter, stripping isn't hard."

"It will matter, because not everyone is perfectly okay with stripping in front of a crowd, some people have this emotion that may be foreign to you Cross, but its called shame."

"Oh pfft, it's fine, its fine. Besides, what's the worse that can happen?"

There was plenty of reasons on what could happen in which Neah had in mind to inform Cross, however, a face peeked around the door, silver eyes glancing some what nervously at the two of them. Cross discarded his mask of annoyance and stood up, walking towards the person by the door and offering his hand.

"Ah, its nice to meet you again..."

"Allen. Allen Walker" Said Allen muttered somewhat embarrassedly, quickly shaking Cross his hand and taking a swift glance at Neah, before moving his sights back to Cross.

"Yes, Allen! I'm glad you found the place well enough. Didn't have to much trouble, did you?"

Allen shrugged, pursing his lips as he added, "No trouble at all, though I will admit, when you offered me a job, this wasn't the kind of work I had in mind...unless it cleaning, then I can do that well enough."

Chuckling, Cross shook his head, leading Allen over to take a seat on one of the free chairs, though it was clear from the glare that Allen didn't like being touched. Which was a clear indication, at least, in Neah's mind, that Allen was not suited for this line of work in the least.

"We have enough staff who clean around here, however, we're always looking for strippers."

Allen's expression immediately changed, silver eyes narrowing and bowing his head, though Neah was able to get a peek of the pink blush which had spread across the other's cheeks before it was hidden by a curtain of red, brownish hair. How utterly adorable. Cross was blunt, but he had never seen someone blush so quickly and get embarrassed by his forwardness.

"That's not what I thought I was signing up for." Allen managed to sputter out, causing Neah's smirk to widen, golden eyes glimmering with amusement as Cross merely sighed in exasperation, running a hand through his rich, scarlet hair.

"I get you, but times are hard, jobs aren't easy to come by, and something tells me you've been jobless for quite a while now. This isn't the time to be squeamish about things, if you wanna make it past these years, you're going to need cash, and this job will give you plenty of it. IF you're willing to do it, that is."

Neah had to give Cross some credit, he drove a good bargain. But it wasn't enough, Neah could tell from the look in Allen's eyes, so he decided to help Cross out for once.

"Of course," Neah added as he rested his chin on his hand, propping it up against his leg for support, "you wouldn't be just thrown in for the lions to eat you, I'd show you how its done, we'd ease you in to this. It's nothing hard, and besides, is pride really worth starving another month or two and looking for a job that won't come?"

Just for kicks, he threw in his best, reassuring smile, fluttering his lashes gaily and met with an unexpectedly agreeable response.

"Fine, what's the starting pay?"

Cross, pleased that Allen had at least some what jumped on the idea, began to eagerly discuss payment with him, not paying attention at all other than what he was talking about. Satisfied with results, Neah got up from the desk and headed out to watch the rest of Mana's little performance, though he felt a specific pair of eyes watching him leave, taking a quick glance behind him to find Allen staring at him. The moment he caught him, however, Allen just as quickly broke his stare and refocused his attention on Cross. With an amused grin, Neah left, wondering just what sort of person Allen would prove to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally posted on FF.net, so I'm uploading it here as well.


	2. Let's Have Some Fun

Okay, why the hell did he think it would be a good idea to go get drunk with Marian last night? Obviously he had not learned from their previous affairs, which had earned him a nasty headache and bruise on the cheek, which he had been told was from the slap of some random chick he had been hitting on. Which, in his defense, he had thought she was pretty cute and had no intentions of hitting on her at all, mostly due to lack of guts, but alcohol had a tendency to make him lose his common sense and do stupid things. Out of the many stupid things that had occurred that particular night, tripping and kissing the brunette was the worst, and earned him a well deserved slap to the face. It had taken weeks for it to heal, and makeup just barely did the job in covering the ugly purple and green tint of the bruise, though it couldn't mask the puffiness of the skin which the bruise showed off oh so nicely. Thankfully, he had been able to avoid getting flat out drunk after that incident, that is, until last night.

Groaning miserably as a headache ravaged his tender brain, he attempted to push himself off the couch he had crashed on, a blanket slipping off him as he did so. Huh, had Mana gotten drunk with them too? He didn't remember his elder brother getting involved, but then again, he hardly remembered anything of the previous night, which was to be expected, since he doubted twenty shots in less than an hour would leave anyone with the ability to clearly recall each detail they had captured after those drinks.

As he looked around the room, he immediately recognized it as Cross's new apartment, which was lavishly decorated in fancy furniture and set up with an air of wealth. Whomever had dropped him on the couch had left the curtains open, the sunlight coming through the window and filling the room with warm, natural lighting, which was nice, but caused Neah's headache to worsen. Great, just great. He had half a mind to go over and pull the curtains shut, the infernal light making his head pound painfully.

Regardless, he couldn't managed to build up the strength to push himself off the couch, simply sinking back down and letting another agonizing whine slip out as he tried to massage his head. God, what he would do for a glass of water and some aspirin. His thoughts were answered when a familiar shape walked out of the hallway, a glass of water and some pills in the gorgeous person's hand, which he smiled in relief as he extended a hands towards them.

"Morning Mana, any particular reason you're here?"

With a roll of his eyes, Mana let the pills roll out of his hand and into Neah's, setting the glass down on the coffee table besides the couch.

"Because you and my boyfriend got to rowdy last night and passed out in the car, so I wasn't going to make two trips to get you both home, you live to far for my taste. So I just brought you over to Marian's apartment."

Easily swallowing the pills, he took a sip of the glass given to him, arching an eyebrow at Mana questioningly. He may have passed out, but that hadn't meant he didn't hear the noises which were coming from the other room. Not that he really minded, but still, sometimes it made him feel pretty guilty that Mana's seductive purr and moans turned him on more than he would like to admit.

"Next time I come over and crash on your couch after a night like that, mind keeping the noise level to a minimal? These walls are pretty thin."

Unabashed, Mana simply stuck out his tongue, giving his younger brother a light flick on the forehead, a twisted, amused smile curving up his face, "I bet you enjoyed it, perverted little brother."

"Whatever, you're the pervert Mana." Neah huffed irritably, forcing himself off the couch, having to remain still for a moment when a sudden rush of dizziness threatened to have him falling face first. Once he regained his balance, he began to grab his stuff which had been tossed about the room, eager to get back to his apartment and get to work early, since he had some things to prep before the new employee came in for his 'lessons'.

"You know, haven't you considered getting involved with someone?" Mana inquired lazily, taking a seat on the couch Neah had been occupying and closing his eyes for a moment of rest. "You're always complaining that your apartment is to quiet but refuse to do anything about it."

Halting, Neah froze as he was halfway bent to pick up his wrinkled shirt, making a strange face before straightening up, shoving the shirt over his head. "I have Timcanpy, besides, I don't have time to deal with people. Dating is stupid anyway." His response was curt, stiff, provoking a mild snort of disbelief from Mana, who knew his brother all to well to believe such a thing. Neah simply didn't know how to talk to people or initiate a relationship past basic friendship. It was a wonder he was not still a virgin with that kind of attitude, but then again, that was mostly his own fault. Oops.

"You'll never get laid with that kind of attitude." He found himself murmuring aloud, amused when a hint of frustration flickered across Neah, evoking a particularly exasperated sigh, shaking his head. Tempted as he was to snap back at his brother, he really didn't want him to see how much the topic got under his skin. So he had never dated anyone, so what? It wasn't his fault all the people he had fallen for were shallow and petty, only desiring a fuck buddy relationship before running off to a new partner who didn't mind being used in such a fashion. Besides, the business he was in wasn't exactly the best to go looking for a date, there were far to many creeps and assholes who came with the job to deal with, and none of them deserved his precious time. Or attention.

"See you later." He managed after finding his house keys, stalking out and towards the door, ignoring Mana's calling as he slammed the door on his way out. A hangover and reminder of his lack of luck with finding a partner weren't a good combination, which it wasn't like he felt he needed someone in his life in order to feel complete. Rather, he just felt a constant desire to find someone who he could share a part of himself with, to be able to confide in someone who wasn't his brother or best friend/boss.

Of course, as he walking into the elevator, he realized that he didn't have a car to drive home, causing him to nearly slam his head against the elevator wall in frustration. He didn't want to take public transportation systems, and the taxies were ridiculously expensive in this city, but he had no other choice.

He would have to make due, and a quick look through his wallet revealed he didn't have much cash on him, so hopefully the trip was super cheap (not likely, he was fifteen miles out) or they accepted credit cards. Not like luck had been with him so far, so when the elevator made a small sound to indicate it had arrived on the bottom floor, he wore a sour expression as he left the building, ignoring the cheerfully polite wishes of a good day by the female receptionist he passed by. He waved the familiar yellow car over, making quick talk to the cab driver and found he was able to pay with his credit card, instantly relieved when he heard this. He gave his address to the man and settled himself into the back seat, gazing at the crowded streets, packed with traffic which would last until well into the afternoon, only to repeat itself as people left for lunch. Things were always happening here, the fast paced lifestyle which many lived constantly demanding them to move about from place to place. Not something Neah had wanted for himself, but he got paid well enough and had more than one could ask for, so he didn't complain, at least, not aloud.

Honestly, he had been lucky, when the economy had taken a dump, he had been jobless and stuck with massive utility bills to pay off, alongside the college fees and loans he was still paying off, even after two years passing of his college graduation. Struggling with just trying to live day by day, his mental and physical health were so severely affected by the amount of stress he had bottled up, he had a massive breakdown, requiring a week of staying in the hospital to rehabilitate. Until that incident, he had been able to successfully hide his financial problems from both Mana and Cross, though they had asked repeatedly if he was doing alright, he hadn't wanted to admit just how much he was struggling, pretending everything was fine, even when things were at the breaking point. Even at the hospital, when Mana had confronted him about everything he had hidden from them, he had gotten into a huge argument, to the point were they were screaming at each other, the doctors having to remove Mana from the area due to his presence disturbing the patient, who needed plenty of peace of mind in order to properly heal. Their argument had mostly consisted of Neah's stupid pride in refusing to accept help, even when he had had no means of being able to pay the hospital bill, having long lost his insurance, claiming once he was out he would be able to find a job to pay everything off. Mana, enraged that Neah had driven himself to such a point of exhaustion and even in the state he was in, continued to deny Mana's assistance, yelled at him for his stupidity. They refused to speak to each other, until Neah was discharged and grudgingly apologized to Mana, reluctantly taking the help he had offered. Cross, who has also been there during the argument and offered his hand to Neah, offered Neah a job at his private business he ran in the red light district. Neah had taken the job for the pay he had been promised, knowing that he wasn't going to get another opportunity to pay off everything if he didn't take it.

Mana had refused to allow Neah to work for a month, however, even after being told by the doctors he was well enough to return to work, Mana insisted on babying him, as well as paying off the majority of his college loans and bills. Though Neah was eager to earn money again, even at the cost of his pride, he enjoyed the month where he remained under Mana's constant, nurturing (at times overbearing) care. He liked being cared for his brother secretly, though he never admitted it aloud, and a soft smile flickered across his stoic features unconsciously at the thought.

Once the month was over, he had taken the 'job' Cross had given him, though it took him time to adjust, having never done anything of the sort before. Cross would say its because he was a virgin at the time he started was the reason he was so shy about it, but that wasn't the case, since he had his fun in college. It was simply a matter of setting his priorities straight, and he places his earning before his own pride, which took some time to get used to, though even now, he was slightly nervous when taking his shift.

But only slightly.

Originally, customers had flocked to the other strippers, making it difficult for Neah to attract much tips, but it was mostly due to his shyness and inexperience which he failed to earn money during his first few weeks in the business. Disappointed with his lack of success, he had observed his fellow co-workers dutiously, determined to become good enough to even top those who had doing it for years. Learning tricks from his dirty brother, he was able to quickly attract customers and bring in plenty of dough for himself, and even bringing in more customers into the business then before. He had managed to work out his own little, unique style, while the others went for outrageously sexy or teases, he liked to be the easy going guy who was easy to talk to but always a bit of a mystery. The customers liked his looks well enough, and even the occasional person he had brought to bed had thanked him for 'the fantastic night'.

Pursing his lips as he recalled his early days in the shop, he realized that only a year ago, he had been in the worst shit hole he ever could have imagined, having thought there was no way out. Now, he was so far removed from that terrible situation, he couldn't help but wonder if it was a dream, a really really good dream which he could wake from any moment. But so far, the dream had continued, so he treasured his good luck, enjoying the luxuries he was now able to afford.

Funny how quickly things could change in life, what a mysterious creature it was.

An light chuckle moved past his lips, causing a curious look from the cab driver, who's name tag said his name was Charles, but he shook his head, keeping his amusement to himself. At least his headache was gone now, but he was still pretty exhausted.

"Mr. Cab driver, how much longer till we arrive at my destination?" He asked with a stifled yawn, stretching to ease some of the tension in his muscles. He didn't receive a response, as the driver swore and honked the horn erratically, grumbling about how idiots should stay off the road if they didn't know how to drive. "With this traffic, probably not for another hour, sir."

Nodding, he looked behind him and saw how large the backup, which must suck for anyone who had to go to the bathroom. Deciding to take a nap, he rested his chin on his hand, eyelids sliding shut as he allowed himself to block out the heavy noise of cars and people, sinking in to the oblivion of darkness.

 

 

* * *

 

 

"...s...i-..."

?

"...si...r...e...sti...s..."

"..Sir?"

Jolting awake, Neah realized the car had come to a start, the cab driver turned to face him, an expectant expression on his face as he raised an eyebrow, waiting.

"Sorry, what was that again?" Neah grumbled, sleep thick in his voice as he tried to shake himself off, not fully awake. "I said we're here, and that'll be $70." Yawning, Neah reached into his pocket and handed the guy his credit card, because heaven forbid he ever carry more than $20 in cash on him. Gathering his belongings, he took back his card once the driver was done with it, thanking him and walking to his apartment in a blur, barely even conscious of what he was doing, until he found himself at his doorway, keys in the doorknob, and opening the door. He walked into the hallway, taking a sharp turn into his bedroom, and checking the clock, finding he had several hours to waste before he had to be there to meet Allen. He was still exhausted from whatever the fuck he had done the previous night, so he took out his cellphone and set the alarm to go off in two hours.

He flopped onto the bed and closed his eyes with a soft groan, the peaceful bliss of slumber quietly welcoming him back. It felt like he had just closed his eyes when he heard the alarm go off, and he fumbled to find his phone on the table next to his bed, hating the stupidly annoying tune which it played. Once it was off, he forced himself to change out of his filthy clothes, dumping them onto the floor with a building pile of dirty laundry, saying to himself for the seventh time that week that he would take care of it after he was done with his shower.

It felt good to be rid of clothing, especially ones which had smelt of beer and sweat, so he grabbed some clean clothes from his closet, going to his bathroom in his room, quickly turning the shower knob on, testing the temperature before stepping in and relaxing in the steaming water. A moan of relief tumbled out as the hot water hit his sore, tired muscles, relieving them of the tension and soreness. He soaked in the water for a few minutes, enjoying the noises of the water splattering against the shower tile, the comforting steam which emanated from the steamy water soothing not only his body, but his somewhat sore throat. He was tempted to just stand there forever, but he disliked wasting water, and he didn't want the water bill to rise any higher than any it already was, so he reluctantly shut off the water and began to wash himself.

Wet, oily strands of hair were washed quickly, Neah grimacing when a small flick of shampoo landed in his eye. He did his body quickly, ignoring a new, throbbing pain in his thigh, and the bruise which appeared to be forming on the upper leg. Seriously, just what had happened last night? He swore to himself never to go drinking again, only to snort at the notion, since he was a damn liar and rarely gave a damn for consequences. At least, until they came.

Turning the water back on, he rinsed to sweet smelling suds off his body, a fresh scent of vanilla wafting through his nostrils. He reached for his shaving cream and lathered it all over his legs and armpits, since he had made it his daily ritual to shave everyday, not because he had to, but it was just easier to deal with the hair that way. It was annoying, but the customers preferred clean shaven men, including in the desirable area. Not that they ever saw it, but they got enough suggested glimpses of it to see whether or not it was shaven.

As he was in the middle of finishing his routines, he heard his phone begin to play his ringtone for Cross, which was some silly one he had found online that screamed, 'Don't pick up, its your mom!" Which, he found very amusing, and so far, Cross hadn't heard it yet, but he was sure he was going to be a dead man if he ever found out. At least Mana hadn't ratted him out, which he was very thankful for, as he did not look forward to the hissy fit he would receive, as well as a beating. Not that he couldn't hold his own, but he just hated fighting in general, it wasn't his cup if tea.

Ignoring it for the moment, he hummed a little lullaby he had heard as a child, finishing the final touches on his legs before rinsing off the residue, wrapping a towel around himself as he left and went to check his phone. He had twenty text messages from Cross and two phone calls- make that three now. He picked up the phone and answered it before Cross could put a word in, "What the fuck do you want? Whats so urgent that you have to text me and call me one hundred freaking times?!"

"Allen says he wanted to come in earlier, he came over to my apartment and we discussed somethings."

"How did he find your apartme-?"

"I'm going to need you to prep him, since he'll be working with you during your shift today, and I want to make this a smooth transition, or as smooth as you can. Oh, and Mana says you left your jacket here, so he'll give it to you later tonight."

"Wait, but when is earlier?"

"Um,...in half an hour from now?"

"Son of a-, fuck, whatever. Okay, I'll be there in."

He hung up and threw it as hard as he could on the bed, since as annoyed as he was, he wasn't going to destroy a pricy thing like a cellphone. He spent too much on it. Cursing rather violently, he dried himself off and shoved himself into the clothes he had set out, as the business was at least a twenty minute drive away from his apartment, and he didn't have any of his supplies packed or any outfits which he planed on giving to Allen. Might as well give him something to work with, he could think of it as a welcoming gift. He stumbled across his room as he struggled to get his head into the hole in his shirt, only to realize that was the arm sleeve he was trying to push his head through. He pulled out one of his drawers and began throwing things he knew he would need on the bed, his bag on the floor somewhere in his room, but he would worry about locating it later.

As he flung makeup and different clothing onto the bed, he found something he had purchased as a joke, a piece which was very very revealing, something he didn't dare to wear himself, though he was keenly aware that Mana wore these quite often, usually when he knew Cross was watching. Which was always. Holding back a snicker, he thought of a nasty joke to pull on the new employee, tossing the thing onto the bed, before abandoning the drawer to find his bag. Which, lucky for him, happened to be next to the dirty laundry pile. So much for getting to that today, he'd have to do it eventually.

Flinging everything into the pack carelessly, he zipped it up and began to put on his shoes, remembering that Allen probably didn't have anything appropriate footwear either. He quickly slipped on his slip on shoes, rushing into his closet and looking for the smaller heels and ones he knew would not be to painful to wear. He found some decent ones in the back, which he brought with another pair, slinging them over his back and grabbing his luggage, heading towards the door.

He grabbed the keys, which he left on the floor, a common thing to what he dis with most of his possessions, about to leave when he remembered his cellphone was still on his bed. He went back for it, looking over the text Cross had sent as he began to walk down a set of stairs to the garage.

Grinning mischievously, he snickered as read the dirty sexts Cross had sent him, having intended them for Mana and begging Neah to delete them. Which was not happening, these would be to bis advantage if he ever needed to bargain with Cross, because as jealous as Cross could get, Mana was ten times worse than him.

Just remembering the time where one woman had gone up to Cross and blatantly kissed him in front of Mana had made him so envious, though he was dating the man for pete's sake, that he didn't speak to Cross for well over a week, Cross apologizing and swearing he didn't know her every chance he got. And Neah had been a witness, amused the entire time and comforting Mana when he could.

Clicking a button on his keys, his car made a small noise, unlocking itself with another click of a button. A woman who was walking by gave him the eye, her expression giving away her thoughts, though she immediately changed her mind at the sight of the heels, disgusted. Shrugging, Neah got into his car, not caring what the lady thought. Besides, its not like she was particularly pretty either, and she had no idea why he had the heels with him, so who was she to judge?

Wait, I don't care. He repeated to himself in his head, forgetting about as he inserted the key, switching the car on and putting the gear in reverse, looking back and checking his mirrors for people who might be behind him, but he saw none. So he carefully backed out, making sure he was clear on all angles before switching the gear and driving off, taking his time, since he was definitely going to be late, but hopefully not too late.

 

 

* * *

 

 

With a wide grin stretched across his face, he kicked open the door to the empty establishment, spooking Allen, who had taken a seat on one of the love couches not to far from the door.

"Morning Allen! Or, afternoon, I guess." Neah greeted happily, eager to put his plan into action, especially eager to see the little thing he had brought on for Allen.

"Hey." Was the russet haired reply, arms crossed firmly against his chest, expression stiff with either embarrassment or something else which was foreign to Neah. Setting his stuff down on the floor, he took a seat on the opposite couch, facing Allen, since he had a simple questioning he had to give him, as had been done to him one his first day.

"Okay Allen, I just have some quick questions for you to answer, then we'll get straight to what you'll be doing tonight and prepping you. Mkay?"

Pursed lips and narrowed eyes meet him, giving him a short nod, arms crossed even tighter. Did he have something up his ass?

Whatever, just get this over with. "First question, how many sexual partners have you had before today?"

He didn't expect the reaction he got, as Allen turned a bright crimson, face flushed with embarrassment, taking a sharp breath of surprise in. Quite the response, which answered his question, but he needed to hear it from Allen himself before he could continue.

"N-none, I've never even had sex!" Allen said nervously, refusing to meet Neah's eyes, what a cute guy. Virgins were good though, because customers could smell the virginity on them (how that was possible, he didn't know, but the fuckers just seemed to know) and loved eating them up.

"Second question, what level of comfort are you okay with getting on a stage and stripping?"

Another quick draw of the breath, although, he didn't blush as heavily this time.

"I'm. Not. Comfortable. At. All."

Too bad, cute thing like him would make a lot if he ever did build up the courage to do so.

"Third question, how adverse are you to giving lap dances?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Lap dances. Never heard of them?"

"No.."

Virgins. He got up and pushed Allen back against the couch, straddling him as he wrapped his arms around his neck.

"Wh-what are you?!"

He merely grinned, pressing a single finger towards those soft, plump lips and moving his hips around his crotch, leaning his head down dangerously close to his face, lips nearly touching as he continued his fluid momentum, Allen stuttering and blushing the whole while. He couldn't help but laugh, breaking his hold over him and taking his seat back to enjoy the delicious sight of that blush across his face.

"Thats a lap dance." He replied with a impish smirk, wondering just how much he had gotten Allen's attention. He probably wasn't even bi, let alone gay, so Neah didn't think he had a chance, even if he wanted one. He continued his inquisition, while Allen gaped and tried to get his mind straight.

"Fourth question, have you ever worn lingerie or heels?"

"N-no." Allen stuttered, eliciting another smile from Neah, he was having way to much fun, but he couldn't help it.

"Final question, are you dating or seeing anyone at this time?" That wasn't a question asked, but he was curious.

"What does that have to do with anything? Whatever, the answer is no though."

It was good enough for Neah, who felt strangely happy to hear that, which was weird, even for him.

"That's all the questions, now, do you have any?"

Allen bit his lip, contemplating something as he furrowed his eyebrows, the adorable expression of deep thought bringing another smirk to Neah's face.

"A-are you seeing anyone?"

The question was asked so hesitantly and honestly, Neah couldn't help but burst into a fit of laughter, stifling most of it with his hands, though his eyes glimmered with bemusement. What a strange question to ask, though Neah figured he deserved it, since he had asked to, and that had nothing to do with the questions he was supposed to ask.

"Nope. Single and forever available." He replied with another laugh, Allen scowling and avoiding eye contact.

"Fine, I have nothing more. What next?"

"Next is to dress you~~~"

Neah purred excitedly, grasping Allen's hand and grabbing his bag as he dragged him over to his dressing room, the mischievous look in his eye more profound than ever. As pushed past the door and had Allen take a seat on the chair next to his mirror, as he stuck a hand into his bag and pulled out some hair ties and a brush, he set to work on making Allen's hair smooth and shiny, tying the back of it into a neat ponytail, but left plenty of hair loose so it gave almost a very airy, sexy appeal. Or at least, he hoped so. As he got a better look at Allen's face, he realized the makeup would be unnecessary, since his face was pretty enough to attract eyes. Then, for the 'pièce de résistance', he pulled it out of the bag, and showed it to Allen.

"This is what you'll be wearing tonight." He said with a large grin, eyeing the other and curious for his reaction, which was well worth the wait. Allen blanched, eyes wide with fear as he eyed the article of clothing.

"Do I have to? Is there something else I can-"

"Nope, this is what we all wear, so you're going to have to get used to it, sorry. Boss's orders."

Tentatively, Allen reached for it, examining it warily before casting Neah a frightened look, his eyes begging for him to laugh it off and say he was kidding. But he didn't, and resigned to his fate, Allen went to the opposite of the room to change.

Oh yes, tonight would be very interesting.


	3. Accidents Happen

With a wide grin, Neah flitted out of the dressing room, allowing a small, high pitched giggle to slip past his lips. Truly, this was one of the best ideas he had had in a long while, not to mention that he was sure that he was not the only one who would be enjoying it. Of course, he'd have to tell Cross about it, or else the man would spoil all the fun, and all his coaxing and reassuring would have gone to waste.

Originally, Allen had been reluctant to put the lacy and highly revealing thong he had given to him, but with a bit more persuading, Neah had managed to get the other to put it on, though he voiced his complaints the entire time he did. The other had insisted that Neah turn around from the dressing curtain, even though he couldn't seeing anything if he had been looking, muttering dangerously how he would never hear the last of it if he caught him peeking. So for the joke's sake, he had done so, and was highly amused when a crimson faced Allen nervously pulled open the curtain, revealing his nicely fitted body, his long locks of coppery hair flowing down and nicely framing his face.

"Why do I have to wear this?!" Allen had gripped, clearly uncomfortable with how the thong revealed so much. Since there was nothing to cover his bare body with, the pleasant view which Neah had been appreciating was quickly hidden by the curtain.

"Its what we all wear." Neah replied as he smirked, shaking his head lightly as he tried to contain his amusement.

"Can't I wear something less revealing?" He whined desperately, embarrassment clear in his eyes as he looked around to room for something, anything to cover himself in. It was...endearing, in Neah's eyes.

Chuckling, he moved towards his closet and pulled out a bathrobe which had originally been a client of his, but she had left it one night and never come back for it. Oddly enough, it looked big enough to fit Allen, so he walked over and tossed it at him. "Nope~ Sorry, rules are rules. Come now, this is easier than working endless hours in some stupid minimum wage job. You only have to forget your pride and work your masculine charm in order to get paid."

"Ugh, fineeee." Allen gripped, quickly pulling on the robe and relief flowing onto his face as he felt more secure by the coverage the bathrobe gave. Although, he looked even more appealing with more clothing on him, ironically. "Just leave me alone, I need to get my head straight..."

Practically skipping towards the man's office, he stopped when he heard a low moan from the office, a very familiar moan.

Good god, couldn't those two stay apart for more than a minute?

He thought irritably to himself, the reminder of being single weighing heavily on his mind once more. It wasn't that he was desperate for someone to be in his life, though the idea of having someone beside him to support him was always a reassuring thought. Especially after spending such a long period of time with relying on no one but himself. After putting himself through such a horrendous ordeal, he wasn't exactly keen on keeping to himself again. In fact, after he had joined the club and broken through his shell, he had sought comfort in anyone who was willing to give him their night. Quite a few men and women had made their way into his sheets, however, none had managed to quite capture his interest besides the little spark they had managed to create upon their first meeting. He tried his best to avoid it, but occasionally, the feeling of neediness would creep up on him, and he'd find himself sore in the morning, often in his bed with someone he couldn't even recall their name.

He rapped obnoxiously on the door, giving them a moment to stop whatever they were doing before saying, "I'm giving you thirty seconds to make yourself decent so I don't permanently scar my eyes with whatever indecency you two are doing right now."

He heard whispering, catching Mana's low, husky moan, "No, ignore him, who gives a shit what he sees?" Cross mumbled something in return, causing his brother to sigh, reluctant. He heard a bit more rustling, along with more complaints about always being interrupted. Rolling his eyes, he gave them a few moments to clean up, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited. When had they even arrived? He didn't recall hearing the door open or any noise, or perhaps they had snuck (omfg its one in the morning, is it fucking snuck or sneaked in I JUST DON'T KNOW SOBS) in, though why they couldn't have just spent their time in their apartment was beyond him.

Thinking he had given them plenty of time, he opened the door to Mana glaring grumpily at him from his seat on the couch, his lovely hazel hair pulled onto one side of shoulder, probably covering a bite mark. Cross was sitting at his desk, his scarlet hair messily combed and eyes still lust ridden. Again, he rolled his eyes, crossing his arms as he took a seat on one of the seats, ignoring the aggravated look Mana was casting him.

"I don't know why its so hard for the two of you to have your fun at your damn apartment-"

"But I wante-" Mana tried to interrupt him before Cross let out a low growl of embarrassment, casting Mana a look to silence him, which worked to an extent. Mana huffed in annoyance, not bothering to complete his sentence.

"Whatever, anyway, I just came to say that I put the new guy, Allen, in one of those shitty things Mana gave me. Just play along and tell him its part of our look, okay?"

Mana gaped, forgetting his irritation at Neah as he unsuccessfully tried to contain his amusement. "You got him to wear one of those thongs? Oh my god, that poor guy. You're evil Neah."

"He better not quit when he finds out, we keep losing employees because of that new club." Cross grumbled, ignoring Mana's laughter.

"Oh poo, don't be such a joy killer Cross, he needs a job. Does he look like he's in any position to drop this job? Besides, I think he'll fit in just fine once he gets used to the job after a few weeks." Neah sighed, waving his hand dismissively. He was sure that Allen would continue to work, it wasn't like he had any where to go back to.

"God Neah, you're so mean. The poor guy has never done anything like this and then you trick him into wearing something as revealing as that?" Mana giggled as he shook his head in disbelief, "How did you even convince him?"

"With my amazing good looks, of course!" Neah replied as he did what he thought was a sexy flip of his hair, though Mana merely snorted in amusement, while Cross rolled his eyes, unamused with Neah's antics. Then again, it took a lot to get a smile out of that gruff.

"Just make sure he's ready for tonight. You two get the first shift with Mana and the others, but I expect you and Mana on stage. He needs to know what will be expected of him." Of course, Cross was all about business, wasting no time in shooing Neah out of his office after reminding him of his duties.

"Mmm, tonight ought to be interesting~" He hummed to himself mischievously, that impish smirk of his flickering across his face, along with the naughty gleam in his honey hues.

 

 

* * *

 

 

"Allen, seriously. You can't hide in their forever." Neah whined as he tried to force the door open for the nth time, his patience wearing quite thin. He had some things he wanted to do in his "office" before the club opened up for the night and with Allen locked in there, he couldn't do a single thing. As he waited impatiently, he heard more grumbling and some noise from inside, before the door finally clicked open, revealing a very red faced Allen. Neah couldn't help but snicker at his expression, finding it amusing and adorable at the same time. Hopefully the guy wouldn't be to upset when he realized he had been tricked. For now, he would enjoy every moment of the prank, which, yes, was cruel, but it wouldn't physically harm him.

"Are you sure I can't wear anything else?" Allen stammered, blushing furiously as his silver eyes narrowed in mortification, still unable to shake off the initial fluster. Neah could understand, since he remembered his first day all to clearly, and it made him want to back down on the trick he had started, but he wasn't feeling that bad about it.

"You can, just don't expect to get tips. I'm sure you could rack up a few dollars with your looks, but the customers here prefer charm and skin..."

Sighing reluctantly, Allen's shoulder sagged as he finally moved out of the doorway and let Neah in, to which Neah proceeded to shoo out, proclaiming he needed space to change. As he shut the door, he told Allen to go find Mana to get filled in on what to do.

Finally, it was his turn to get prepared. Since it was Saturday, which was typically their busiest night, he liked to get a little flamboyant with his outfits, trading his casual jeans and tee for a more formal wear. However, since he would be with Mana on the pole that night, he simply grabbed a tie and some loose fitting pants, along with his pristine white shirt from his closet. It was difficult to take off, but he just needed to wear something nice for the beginning, clothes weren't really necessary once he got on stage.

Of course, dressing himself was the easiest part. The true difficulty resided in taming the mess known as his hair. Sometimes it would work with the hair products he managed to coax into it and remain slicked back for a few hours, but more often than naught, it remained in its messy nature. Perhaps tonight it would decide to cooperate with him, which oddly enough, it took to the hair gel he applied. He combed his hair briefly, attaining the carefree yet well dressed style he was going for, and once he was satisfied with the any final details, he exited the dressing room. As he left, his gaze caught his clock and found that it was 15 till five, when they opened. It gave him enough time to fill Allen in on any last minute details he may have forgotten, or Mana had skimmed over to briefly.

Loosening his tie, he walked out and down into the hallway, where Allen and Mana were talking at the very end of it, Mana's face thoroughly amused as Allen tried not to look at him anywhere other than his face. Mana was always promiscuous, even before he meet Cross and settled down, an air of seduction following him everywhere he went and in everything he did. It was simply one of his many charms, something he was keenly aware of and constantly using to his advantage. Most of the time, people were quite uncomfortable with talking to him, since he did dress rather provocatively, never ashamed to show a little more skin than some thought necessary. But of course, it did mean that those who were prude were often subjected to his endless teasing.

In this case, it seemed that his lack of clothing perturbed Allen, but it was only because Mana was playing along and wearing a thong as well. Though unlike Allen's, or Neah's, which was lacy and covered a bit more of the buttocks and the lower crotch area, Mana's was much more...revealing.

"Since this is your first time, we won't be having you do anything extravagant, like giving lap dances or trying out the pole or a tease to a private client, since we wouldn't want anyone taking advantage of you. Not that they would, since Marian has made that rule of the establishment quite clear. But Neah will have to go over the proper procedures and when to tell a customer to back off, etc etc." Mana rambled on, seemingly oblivious to Allen's anxious expression, turning his head when he heard Neah's footsteps and smiling widely as he caught sight of Neah.

"And speaking of that, here's Neah! Hey, I thought you didn't like wearing ties?"

"Times a change." Neah replied smoothly, ignoring Allen's glare when he saw that he was not wearing anything nearly as erotic as the two in front of him. "Any other questions you have Allen? Now's the time to ask, since we'll be opening in a few."

"Yeah, how come you're not wearing...this thing." Allen muttered irritably, his arms crossed against his toned chest, the adorable scowl he wore directed at Neah.

"Because I'm going to dance on the stage, would you like to join me? You can put on a bit more clothing if you choose to." This response was met with an even deeper scowl, and Allen removed his glare from Neah to the floor. If looks could kill, the poor floor would have certainly ceased to exist, that is, if the floor was actually alive.

"Fine. But what am I supposed to do then?" He gripped, earning a brilliant smile on Mana's part.

"Just flirt with the customers, it doesn't have to be over the top, have some fun. Just avoid drinking too much, or drinking altogether."

"Like anyone could have fun flirting." Allen murmured under his breath, provoking a chuckle from Neah, who patted Allen's head. "It won't be so bad once you get used to it. I'd tell you to imagine everyone in their underwears to make you less nervous, but somehow I don't think that would help ease your anxiety."

As desired, Allen let out a chuckle, his face relaxing every so slightly, though it was clear that he was still quite anxious. Mana patted him on the back, flashing a ridiculously alluring smile which Neah could only assume was his attempt at being reassuring.

"It'll get easier once you get used to working here~" Mana soothed, ruffling Allen's hair before going out to chat up their bartender, Garrett. Allen ran his hand through his hair unconsciously, fixing the bit which Mana had purposely messed up, a curious expression crossing his face.

Grasping his hand, Neah lead him to the floor, Allen letting out a squeak of embarrassment as he attempted to hide himself partially using Neah, whom merely smiled mischievously and pulled him towards his side, not that there was anyone in the room who wasn't used to the sight of half naked men. He wondered how long he could keep up this prank, more terrible ideas forming in his head as he thought of the embarrassment he could bring upon the new employee. Though Cross would probably stop him from having his fun, since if he did half the things he had in mind, he would surely earn Allen's eternal fury.

Leading Allen around the spacious room, he gave him a brief tour of the club, showing him the stage where he and Mana would be working at, along with the more private seating area which was often reserved for particular clients who could legitimately afford it, where scantily dressed male servers would offer a variety of "food" and "services" for the client. Allen would be working there, where he was less likely to attract more attention from their more "rowdy" clientele, though it also meant that Neah would have to get another one of his fellow co-workers to keep an eye on the newbie to make sure he didn't get into any trouble.

"You'll be a server here, all you have to do is welcome anyone who comes through these doors and hand them a menu. Joshua, who's our main server here, will fill you in on anything else. Its nothing too difficult asides from that, just make sure to smile and act pretty."

"Kinda hard to do when you aren't." Allen grumbled to himself, and Neah glared at him, offended by the comment. He let go of Allen's hand harshly, who gave him a look of confusion, not understanding the sudden expression of hurt which flickered across Neah's face.

"Hey, what's with you?" Allen asked, eyebrows furrowed together in confusion.

"Oh I don't know, maybe I just decided to not want to be around someone who's going to be an ass." Neah hissed particularly malicious, stomping away from the auburn head who wore a bewildered expression as he watched Neah leave. "Have someone else teach you, I'm done."

It was strange how ridiculously personally he had taken the comment, Neah normally didn't care about what anyone thought of him. Perhaps because the comment had been said rather blatantly, with the audacity to mutter it under his breath like Neah wouldn't be able to hear it. He had no high opinion on his looks, though he may come off as arrogant and confident, he very rarely felt that way, since he'd never been the handsome one. Even though they were twins, Mana was the beautiful one, he was the one that got most of the attention and all the praises, something Neah felt no jealousy towards, but it did slowly chink away at the little self confidence he had. Of course, he was well aware of the fact that people at the club gave him quite a bit of attention, but it wasn't the same as Mana, who got attention outside the workplace.

Growing up, it had always been him who'd gotten the Valentines, or the giggles from the girls as they walked by them. Or voted the most handsome of the class. Something Neah constantly tried to convince himself that he didn't care about such things, but denial could only work for so long. The few people whom he had allowed into his life, thinking they had felt the same way he did towards them, were the ones only using him for body, caring nothing for anything else. He only got compliments when he had entered the club and dressed provocatively.

Shaking it off, he went towards the door to the back of the stage, slamming it shut as he entered and checked the time on the clock to the right of him. Five til five. Sighing, he took a seat on one of the comfy couches, closing his eyes as he placed a hand over his face, contemplating why he had burst out like a child. He shouldn't have cared, its not like he really knew Allen anyway, nor was it the first time someone had said something like that to him. In fact, considering all the things he had been called, it was probably one of the nicest ones.

Whatever, he thought irritably to himself, the clock hand inching its way closer to five o'clock.

 

 

* * *

 

 

The alluring smile he kept frozen on his face as he gave one last wink towards the crowd, a loud whistle coming from somewhere in the audience as he exited into the backstage room, the smile quickly dying once he was hidden from view. Mana followed after him a short moment later, golden eyes gleaming with mischief as he practically skipped over to one of the couches, letting out a loud, content sigh as he took a seat.

"Well, that went quite well, don't you think?" Mana grinned as he began to collect his tips and place them into a neat, counting them as he did.

"If you think well means having a roll of twenties tossed at your face in the middle of hanging upside down on the pole, sure." Neah growled, rubbing his nose as he unrolled said twenties and began counting them, taking a seat next to Mana. Mana merely smirked in reply, chuckling softly.

"Oh please, I think you actually made more than me for once, so shut up already. Didn't they apologize?"

"Apologies don't ease my pain." Neah huffed irritably, though a small smile flickered across his face, having made more than $200 thanks to whomever had decided to throw their pocket money at him. Which was a first for him. But never the less, something he was particularly grateful, it meant he could add more to his saving account, which he was just starting to build up a small surplus of money. It felt nice to have money for once and not having to worry what he would eat, if he ate at all, and whether or not he would be evicted for not paying his rent payment or forgoing the electricity and water bill. Just remembering this reminded him that Allen had been looking for a job, and desperate enough to take this one. Neah wondered how badly he was in debt, finding a comfy sweater lying on the floor, and pulling it over his head.

Leaving the thought for another moment, he decided he ought to take a peek and see how Allen was doing, since a quick glance at the clock told him they'd be closing in 30 minutes. Stretching his arms above his head and letting out a loud yawn, he stood up from his seat, making his way towards the door.

"Ah, wait Neah. What did you get? I got $179." Mana questioned, cocking his head to the side as he glanced quizzically at Neah.

"$207." He replied with a smirk, exiting the room as he said so, but not before seeing the look of surprise flash across Mana's face. Tonight was his victory for having the most tips. Not that they really cared, it was just a little brotherly competition they had among one another, always trying to one up the other, especially when they were performing. As he made sure to stay well away from the other clients, he saw other employees chatting amongst them, their gentle, flirtatious manner captivating quite a few of them.

Upon reaching the other side of the room, he heard a loud noise, stopping short as the clatter of glass shattering against the floor and a stream of apologies following it. He took a peek in to see a wine bottle in pieces on the floor, two servers cleaning up their mess while the manager, Nathaniel, was apologizing to one of the customers for the inconvenience, and that the glass of wine would be coming any moment. As he was reassuring the client, a familiar man with copper hair came towards the table, glass and bottle of wine in hand as he poured a glass for the gentlemen, flashing an elegant smile which stunned the customer into silence, Allen apologizing for the wait and backing away. As he did, he looked behind him and winked suggestively, before turning back towards the kitchen, where he had come from.

Jealous, Neah stood at the entrance for a moment, wondering what the strange feeling burning deeply in his heart was, trying to push aside the irritation which stirred in his heart. What a weird day, he really should get a better handle on his emotions. Stepping into the kitchen, Neah nearly ran into Allen, who was rushing out of it, who bumped into Neah with a surprised huff.

"Wha- Oh, its just you." Allen muttered exasperatedly, rolling his eyes as he took a step back and tried to move around Neah, whom stubbornly blocked the way.

"Having fun here kid?" Neah merely snorted in reply, grabbing Allen by the waist when the other thought he could make a run for it and held him in place. Allen's reaction was understandable, seeing as he had behaved rather childishly towards him at the comment. Now that he thought back on it, it had probably been directed at himself, not at Neah.

Huffing, Allen struggled to untangle himself from Neah's grasp, a scowl forming on his face. "Don't call me a kid, I'm bloody 23 years old!"

"Heh, you sure don't look it. You're pretty short for a 23 year old." Messing his hair, he let a crooked smile flash across his face as the other's scowl only deepened, not at all amused.

"What did you even come here for? Weren't you the one avoiding me?" Allen asked pointedly, lovely silver hues narrowed with annoyance.

"Just to check on you, since Marian did put me in charge of you." Neah carefully avoided the last part of the question, he wasn't going to admit his own childishness. "Also, I see you kept you work attire~" The cat had to be out of the bag by now, no one was wearing anything that revealing in the club.

"Who's Maria- Wait, what do you mean?"

Oops, "Nothing nothing, I just thought you'd have covered up by now, since you were so embarrassed to wear it." Shifting his weight to one leg, he hoped Allen would be dense enough to fall for it, which he did.

Frowning, Allen shook his head, "Why would I? I don't want to get fired for not following work conduct, I really need the job..." He trailed off as his eyes seemed to focus far off, before blinking and returning to reality.

"Mm, well, we're going to close in about," He paused to check the time, looking at the microwave across the kitchen for the time, "fifteen minutes. So you can head off home now if you want, I'll finish up for you."

"No! I-i mean, I'll finish up, I'm more than capable of doing it by myself." Since Neah's grip had weakened, he removed himself and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Neah to watch him leave in confusion.

Well, that was weird. He mused to himself as he fiddled with a wooden spoon from the counter, smirking. He began to clean up the remainder of the kitchen, since he had nothing better to do and it would make closing up much faster. The kitchen always took the longest, since everybody was focused on getting the main entertainment areas clean of any filth it had picked up during the night, and the cooks were typically disorganized and messy. Actually, they were just too damn lazy to clean up their workspace, and Cross only refrained from firing due to their excellent cooking skills.

As he was finishing up mopping the floor, Allen came rushing in, sliding across the wet floor and falling on his bum hard. He yelped in surprise, his legs splayed out in an entirely suggestive position. Neah burst into a fit of laughter, leaning onto the mop for support, Allen pouting as he carefully tried to get up, only to fall back down. His expression was so adorably undignified that Neah only laughed harder, his breath coming short and tears budding at the edge of his eyes.

"God, shut the fuck up Campbell." A deep voice growled as Neah whipped his head around to see a particularly grumpy red head, though his laughter didn't stop.

"C-can't, fu-fuck this, i-is to-too goo-good." Neah gasped in between laughs, which Cross only rolled his eyes at, offering a hand to the fallen employee, who was scowling deeply in Neah's direction, his cheeks lightly flushed in embarrassment.

"Oh, by the way Allen, you don't have to wear that ridiculous thing to work everyday. Neah was just being a fucktard and messing with you." With that, Cross left the kitchen, Neah's laughter stopping altogether as his jaw dropped to the floor.

"Cross!" He cried out after as Allen's face turned a dark red, eyes scorching Neah with his glare. Shit, leave it up to that asshole to ruin everything.

"You. Are. An. Arsehole." Allen breathed heavily, stalking out of the room. Neah abandoned the mop and tried to explain himself, which was met with a deaf ear by Allen.

"Aw, Allleeeennnn~ Don't be that way, I was just having some fun~ Come on~" Neah whined, Allen whipping around and promptly smacking Neah in the face with his auburn hair.

"Just screw off!" Allen snapped as he made a beeline to the dressing rooms, slamming the door hard when he went in. Sighing, Neah went into the main room and took a seat on one of the couches, which was clear of customers and employees.

"Oi, Neah!" Cross yelled as he tossed something at the dark haired man, the thing gleaming when it caught the light, and promptly smacking Neah on the head. "You're in charge of locking up. And don't be a dickhead and lock the kid in here." With that, he exited the room, Mana chasing after him as he cast Neah a quick smile, before leaving. Stuffing the keys in his pocket, he grumbled a series of curses, massaging the area of his head which had been hit by the keys.

Those two assholes were going to get it one day.

Since he was already dressed, he decided he'd wait till Allen was done to get his stuff, splaying himself out on the couch. So maybe he had gone too far, but hey, it had been worth every view, right? Wait, where had that come from? He thought in confusion, shrugging as he admitted that Allen totally had the hots for anyone he set his mind on. He was probably good enough to turn straight men gay, if that was possible. Shaking the thought off, he pushed himself off the couch and walked over to the dressing room, turning into the hallway, the door opening to reveal a fully dressed Allen, whom immediately stiffened upon catching sight of him and moving out of his way.

"Ease up Allen, it was just a little joke." Neah huffed irritably, entering the room and collecting his belongings.

"Fuck you Campbell, I trusted you." Allen hissed in response, seething from his stance by the door. He certainly knew how to swear, Neah gave him that much.

"You're not going to get far with that attitude Allen, we're notorious for pranks. We once replaced all of Cross's wine with kool aid."

Not at all amused, Allen's only response was scowl. What a killjoy. "You must be fun at parties with that attitude." He grumbled to himself, shouldering his bag and brushing past the other, whom after a moment of hesitation, followed after him. He apparently chose not to respond to the comment, merely casting another livid glare at the dark haired man. Together, they walked out the back door, Neah locking up and then walking towards the direction of his car. Halfway to it, he noticed Allen hadn't moved from his spot, looking suddenly nervous, eyes flickering from place to place. Perplexed by the sudden change in temperament, he stopped short.

"Hey, you can go home for the night pretty boy." He shouted, the other's panicked expression quickly turning into an irritated one. Success.

"Don't you dare call me pretty boy again or I'll shove a fork up your goddamn ass." Ah, the sweet vocabulary that flowed out of the russet haired man, it was like music to his ears. He would never have guessed that the man had such a potty mouth on him, but clearly getting him this upset revealed his less polite side. Neah had to admit, he liked the unruly and pissed off Allen better than the other. Having stopped walking, he hadn't realized Allen had begun walking towards him, his face looking downwards as the cascade of coppery hair prevented him from seeing his expression.

Shit, please don't hurt me. I was kidding.

"..." Neah cocked his head the side, as Allen muttered something under his breath, which he presumed was something directed at him, since Allen remained where he stood.

"Didn't quite catch that, mind repeating it?"

Sighing, Allen pushed his hair out of his face and looked at Neah square in the eye, determination brimming in the silver hues. "Can I crash at your place? I lost my apartment and everything in it yesterday..."

Well that certainly wasn't expected, though Neah was relieved the man had turned to someone for help, when he had done the opposite and slept on the streets. From his brief time on the streets, he'd learned an important lesson about living there, don't. It was harsh and unbelievably dangerous, a path he wished upon no one. Though Cross might be an exception.

"Why would you ask me? Aren't you pissed off at me?" Not that he cared about sharing an apartment, he was fine with it, but Allen surely had friends he could turn to for help, right?

"I..." Faltering, he seemed at lost for words, before trying again. "I don't have any family or friends to fall back on. And I didn't want to ask Mana or Cross because...well, I figured they'd rather be by themselves...I'm sorry, I'll just..." He trailed off and started off towards somewhere, Neah making a mad grab for his wrist. "No, its fine. I've been looking for a roommate anyway, stupid apartment I bought was way too big for one person anyway. Plus, I already bought and paid it off, so you wouldn't have to worry about rent or anything."

Allen processed the information, minutes passing as he mulled it over, though Neah wasn't sure what there was to think over. Then again, he couldn't talk since he'd allowed his pride from accepting or even asking for help. Finally, he nodded his head, as Neah let his grip loosen and grinned.

"But you do have to wear that thong if you want to stay with me~"

 


	4. Teacher

The thing about the whole roommate situation was that Neah had only presumed Allen would stay a few days, maybe even a week at most at his place, and then find a place of his own. The debt owed by the other was so much so that renting even the crappiest and cheapest places would have served only to add to his debt, so it had been agreed (well, not so much agreed, Allen had told him as much and meant to leave but Neah had coerced him into staying) that Allen would compensate by doing some of the house chores. Which was greatly beneficial to Neah, whom not only was one of the most indolent man on the planet, but lacked any skills in cleaning, so his place had gone from appearing as though it were a dump to nearly immaculate, all thanks to Allen's handiwork. It had been quite entertaining to watch it all go down, as Allen had been vocal the day he had taken on the challenge of cleaning his room and doing his laundry.

"What kind of fucking grown ass man just lets a huge ass pile of dirty clothes linger?! Your room smells absolutely rancid Campbell!" Evidently, Allen seemed to believe it was a crime to live in such pigsty, in which, as much as Neah was against doing so, he was inclined to agree with him.

"Plenty of men!" He'd retorted back, forcing himself to relax as he readjusted his seat on the piano bench, having been sitting there for a few hours meaning to practice his fading piano skills, yet had instead, opted for lazing about and bickering with Allen.

It had been ages since he'd laid his hands upon the piano, one he'd inherited from his mother, whom had dearly treasured this piano. It wasn't as though there was no time; he'd simply lost the appeal in playing it, and he doubted that he could urge any sweet tunes from the piano with his current patchy memory. Alongside this, he hadn't had the piano tuned in years, so it simply was impossible for it to be played.

Unconsciously, his hand ran against the keys, creating a sharp, unpleasant sound to resound across the room, though it was soft enough to not be heard by Allen. Either that or he'd been complaining to himself too much to bother paying attention to anything else besides his own ranting.

"Holy fuck is that a _condom_!?"

He'd wondered what had happened to that condom when he'd finished using it and thrown it in the general direction of the waste basket. Oh well.

"I-fuck! Campbell this is nasty as shit. I can't believe - IT'S FUCKING BEEN USED CAMPBELL WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK!"

"You're going to piss off my neighbors." Neah said as he continued to ignore the other, mildly amused by his disgust. Further grumbling followed this, and honestly, he'd thought that would have been the end of that argument. But apparently that was not to be, as Allen stalked into the room with a dangerous demeanor, and an all too familiar glare directed at him.

"There is no way in hell I'm doing this alone, get your fucking ass over here and help me sort the clothes." Had it been anyone other than Allen, excluding Mana, he'd have certainly ignored them, but Allen always seemed to find a way to get back at him whenever he chose to not do what he said. Even if this was his house, Allen's word had become law.

"Fine fine."

It wasn't what he was used to, having to listen to Allen lecture him on how to sort clothes and by what type of colors, which seemed like a whole lot of work for simply washing clothes, but he wasn't about to question Allen.

They worked in silence for a bit, before Allen broke the silence.

"Why are half your clothes covered in yellow hairs?" The other muttered irritably, in which Neah was about to respond when the culprit decided to spring from where ever he was hiding, and unfortunately, onto Allen's arm.

"What the - ?!" A yellow bar of fur had suddenly attached to Allen's arm, gnawing quite viciously with his sharp teeth. "Ow! Get off of me you!"

The cat, on the other hand, seemed to have different ideas, only holding on tighter, until Neah gave a sharp tsk of disapproval and the thing reluctantly let go of Allen's arm.

Rubbing the scratches and bite marks, Allen swore loudly, directing his gaze at the cat, which stalked its way over to Neah, purring loudly. "What the hell is that thing?"

Partially offended, Neah scooped up the cat and began to pet him. "It's a cat, and his name is Timcanpy. And I'm sorry about your arm, that's just how he greets people." Timcanpy, seemingly agreeing with Neah's statement, meowed as if to affirm this.

"That's one hell of a greeting..." Allen gripped as he got up to find some bandaids - too late, Neah realized he didn't have a first aid kit, or anything which would ease Allen's pain. "Also, how have I not seen it the whole time I've been here?"

"Him." He corrected. "And I suppose it's because he tends to be rather shy around strangers, and he likes running around, so sometimes he's in and out of the apartment for weeks at a time."

"Whatever."

That fiasco had occurred a week ago, into which, reluctantly, he withdrew himself from his reveries back into his current reality. Propped up against his pillow, he buried his face further into the comfy plush, ignoring the insistent beeping of his alarm, which had been going off for the past ten minutes. He really didn't want to do anything at work, and he really needed to look for another job. A year of this had been enough to get him back on his feet, but he sure as hell had no intentions of relying on it to provide for him forever.

"Mreow?"

"No, Timcanpy, I am not opening the door." The cute little shit had a habit of biting his toes whenever he slept in. So he'd made it a habit to shut the door whenever he went to bed. Occasionally, he hadn't realized the cat had taken it upon himself to hide somewhere in his room, which had made the whole ritual pointless, so he always made sure to lure the cat out with a treat and then shut the door.

Sighing, he gathered enough energy to at least move across the bed to slam the stupid alarm off, failing as it only shrilled louder. If he recalled correctly, it had been given to him by Mana, as it played sweet piano tunes at night, but the alarm was a blaring foghorn that was extremely irritating. He still couldn't decide whether or not he hated it, since he couldn't find out how in the world to change the alarm, which was set at six in the morning, whcih he suspected foul play on Mana's part. Asshole.

"Oi! Campbell! Your cat pissed all over the rug again!" And there, was the beautiful voice of his enraged roommate, whom was not at all fond of Timcanpy. Great. Just great.

"Just fuck off Walker." He'd only recently discovered Allen's last name by chance, and since the other had taken it upon himself to address him with his last name, he'd retaliated similarly.

The door was thrown open and Allen stalked in, holding a grumpy looking Timcanpy, "It smells like something died in there and this thing had the audacity to bite me when I tried to clean the mess up."

"What do you want me to do, spank him?" Neah was evidently not in the mood to deal with this, and not even bothering to correct Allen and tell him Timcanpy was a he for the billionth. "Also, why the hell are you even up at this goddamn hour?"

Allen shrugged, "No reason. Well, whatever. Just keep him in here while I clean it up. Also, your alarm is on."

No shit Sherlock.

"Can you turn it off?"

Thankfully, Allen didn't argue for once, as the stupid noise finally quieted and allowed Neah a moment of relief. "Are you feeling alright?"

It took Neah a moment to respond, exhausted and still thinking other things over in his head before realizing Allen was talking to him.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?"

He merely shrugged, dropped Timcanpy on the floor, and walked out of the room, closing the door on his way out. Timcanpy looked indignant that he'd been plopped unceremoniously into the chambers of his owner, stalking over to a corner of the room and curling up to glare at Neah. Neah, knowing that he wasn't going to sleep anytime soon, got up with a groan, and letting out a sneeze.

He'd somehow managed to drag both his and Allen's asses to the club, in which Cross was currently growling angrily at another man, apparently having had plans to renovate the flooring and redo the whole interior, along with repainting the walls, which had clearly not gone according to plan: a dark mahogany colored walls now had a lovely pink coat, which wasn't bad, but it was rather bright and distracting.

"How in the hell do you screw up painting a fucking wall dark blue!?"

"S-sir!" The man was a good several inches shorter than Cross, forehead gleaming with sweat as he took a step back from the glaring owner. "My - my apologies, the info specifying what you wanted was mixed up with another order-"

Unfortunately, Cross was in no mood for excuses, and Neah wasn't about to be in the same room with him when he blew up, intending on getting away from the inevitable argument. Lucky for everyone, Mana came from seemingly out of nowhere and whispered something into his ear, wrapping his arms around his waist. Cross growled something back but Mana merely shook his head and gave Cross that little conniving smile of his that always meant trouble.

"Well, we can't open up like this, I suppose we'll have to just extend the delay." Mana mused as he gandered at the pink wall, excusing the painter with a flick of his hand.

"Th-then I shall return tomorrow to fix our mistake." He bowed apologetically and quickly retreated out.

"And don't expect to be paid for today's work!" Cross barked as the door slammed shut, the fixed scowl only lessening when Mana rubbed his arm reassuringly.

"Did I come here for nothing then?" Neah snapped as he stalked over to Cross, Allen following closely from behind.

Cross sneered, "Poor you, Neah. You wasted an hour of your time driving here while I've wasted money, time, and possible profit due to this moron's mistake."

"You-!"

"Neah! Behave yourself!" Mana said as he came between Cross and Neah, "And Cross, give him a break, he's been working a lot this past few weeks."

"Whatever, I need to go see how this will affect my budget. Since you're already here Neah, why don't you and Mana give Allen some lessons on the pole."

"Aw, but Marian-"

"Don't you Marian me Mana." And with that, he stomped into his office.

"He's so going to pay for this one." Mana huffed. Neah shuddered, knowing better than to mess with Mana, even if it was something minor. Cross was fucked. Hopefully it wouldn't be as bad as last time.

"You don't have to teach me anything. In fact, I'd prefer if you didn't teach me." Allen muttered, eyeing the lone pole on the stage apprehensively.

Mana shook his head, casting one last childish glare at Cross's office door, "He'll be irritated if I don't. Besides, I have better ways of making him pay."

"Please don't enlighten us Mana." Neah grumbled as he took off his jacket and began to stretch his arms.

Allen seemed slightly piqued, trying to prolong his time on the pole. "I want to know."

Mana followed Neah's lead, easily lowering himself into the splits and reaching his hands out towards his toes. "Mm, maybe later. Neah won't want to hear about it; plus, you really need to at least learn the basics. You've already attracted a few eyes - Cross told me a few people have been asking about you."

Allen sputtered, turning bright red, "Excuse me?!"

"It's really not that unusual Allen." Neah sighed as he reached down to touch his toes, a slight smirk playing across his face. "What did you expect? For them to look somewhere else besides your ass and face?"

"Shut up asshole, I've never had a job like this before."

"Yeah, because only here do people bother to look at your ass."

"Okay, ease up there you guys, the sexual tension needs to go down a few knots." Mana teased, though Allen was plainly not amused and mostly disregarded Mana's comment.

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?"

"It means exactly what it's supposed to, moron."

"Guys-"

"And the meaning being?"

"Neah don't-"

"That you're-"

"Enough!" Mana spoke firmly, a hidden edge held within his tone as he glared at Neah. "Seriously, you guys act like a bickering couple."

"I'd never date an asshole like him." Allen sneered, pointing at Neah accusingly as he said so.

"Good to know sweetie, because I wouldn't think twice after hearing what comes out of that filthy mouth of yours. It has better uses."

"What the fu-"

"Neah!"

"What? It's true!"

"I'm going to -"

"Try me Walker, just try me."

"Oh my god, they seriously never stop." Mana murmured in amazement as Allen and Neah continued to go at each other, something that continued throughout the lesson, though it really couldn't be called that when more time was spent bickering. Cross didn't emerge from his office the entire time they were there, which was fine with Neah, because he was perfectly content with the way things had progressed for them. When they hadn't been arguing, Allen had watched Mana explain to him correct ways to hold onto the pole so that he would slip off, and relatively basic movements.

"It's an art of sorts, it's not something you master in one go." Mana explained, advising Allen to stretch out more for better flexibility on the pole, especially after falling flat on his face multiple times. "Your best bet is to just go slow, and consistently do the exercises I showed you. Once you're more flexible, I'll show you the gist of what we do."

Allen, though originally appalled at the very idea of dancing in front of strangers, was rather studious about the whole thing, observing Mana and seeming to take everything he said to heart.

They departed, Mana waving goodbye as Neah drove off back to the apartment, dropping Allen at a local bookstore, as he apparently wanted some time to himself, which Neah was more than happy to give. With the promise of solitude for most of the afternoon, Neah took the opportunity to return to an old hobby of his.

The old piano sat in the middle of the living room, one of the few possessions he truly treasured, which had been quite ignored for something he loved. It was due to stress, and grief, that had kept him from playing, the few gifts she'd given him, and one of the only relics that reminded him of her. Mana had been telling him that he needed to let himself grieve more, but he'd ignored the advice, always finding an excuse not to or complaining that Mana had no room to talk. Neither of them had dared to breach the topic, in fact, since their mother's death; she had been a touchy topic that they refused to discuss. Even after several years, their grief was as fresh as the day she had passed on.

Sighing, he took a seat on the bench and gazed at the keys, waiting for some sort of inspiration to hit him, as though staring hard enough would bring about some sort of motivation. Yet still, all was silent, his hands resting at the edge of the keys, hesitating. It irritated him, slamming on the keys as hard as he could, the loud, almost wailing like noise ringing in his ears painfully, his face contorted painfully, trying to maintain his facade, barely holding back his own frustration and grief.

The sound reminded him of the first time he'd touched a piano, having wondered what the weird keys did, and being surprised when he slammed his small fist down and for a shriek to erupt from the instrument. His mother had laughed at his frightened expression, showing him how to properly play, how to read the notes, and even how to create his own scores. The piano had offered him endless fantasies, of lands undiscovered and treasures waiting to be found, something he could truly immerse himself in. Eager to learn, he'd studied diligently, reading books on how to play better, on how to maintain a piano, and biographies on famous pianist.

Within months, he was decently proficient in his playing, and soon begged his mother for lessons, whom had been more than happy to find a teacher who would foster her son's growing love for music. Maria, although blind, had been an excellent mentor for five years, until she passed after an accident, in which Neah continued to play. His first melody he made was one he'd dedicated to her, not at all perfect, but it was simple, and pretty, something only a child could create.

He hadn't played her melody since her funeral, nor had he ever written it down, yet the tune came to him, a soft, familiar voice encouraging him to play.

His hands began to move, slowly, at first, as a quiet, soft tune floated through the air, easy on the ears. He didn't dare to think, he simply allowed the music to come to him, the tranquil song like that of a soothing nursery rhyme a mother sang to her somnolent child, a sense of peace flooding through him as he played, the music coming to an end as quickly as it had come.

It was oddly silent for a moment, before soft clapping rang from the other side of the room, Neah whipping his head around to find Allen leaning against the wall, looking mildly impressed. Neah gaped at him, wondering just how long he had been standing there, and why on earth he was home so quickly, when he looked over towards the grandfather clock to find three hours had already passed.

"I didn't know you played. I thought that was just for decoration." Allen said, observing Neah as he flustered about and tried to hide the keys with the wooden panel that covered them, accidentally slamming it on the tips of his fingers.

"Not well. It's been years." Neah replied as he rubbed his fingers, a bit embarrassed that Allen had been watching. He was self conscious when it came to this, as the only ones who'd ever seen him play were Mana, Maria, and his mother.

Allen pursed his lips, "You don't seem like someone who would be interested in music."

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me, don't be so quick to judge." Neah snorted, getting up from the bench and starting towards his bedroom.

"Then tell me."

He paused. "What?"

Allen took a few steps forward, biting his bottom lip, a nervous habit that Neah recognized because he himself did it too. "I feel like all we do is argue, and, well, you were nice enough to let a complete stranger crash at your house. So...I just thought we should try talking more..." The last of his sentence faded off into an unclear mumble, his gaze falling to the floor. Neah was surprised, to say the least, and caught a bit off guard.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that last part."

"And I want to learn how to play the piano."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter due to, er, well, it being months since I even touched this story and because I really wanted to get it out of the way. I rewrote this several times and lost inspiration, and my patience, with it countless times. I'm hoping to get somewhere with this fic, maybe even finish it. Oh well. Next upload will be a Yullen drabble.


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